Category Archives: Local variation in benefits

Two recent research papers, by Kline and Walters, and by Feller et al., suggest that Head Start has much larger impacts when it is compared to the alternative of “no preschool”. This finding tends to increase the likelihood that Head … Continue reading →

I have a new paper published that bears on the following important issue: when will local economic development incentives – various types of customized tax breaks or services to individual businesses – be most effective in helping improve economic well-being? … Continue reading →

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently proposed a major expansion of the state’s pre-K program, called the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP). From reports in Gongwer News Service, legislators and others have expressed various doubts about the proposed expansion. This blog … Continue reading →

ReadyNation has a new and improved version of an issue brief that summarizes my 2011 book, Investing in Kids. This issue brief summarizes the main points of my book, and accompanies this summary with some great graphics. Specifically, the issue brief … Continue reading →

I have a new working paper available that looks at how job-creating policies should be evaluated in benefit-cost analyses. The paper is technical, and is mainly addressed to economists interested in benefit-cost analysis. However, the paper’s findings have some important … Continue reading →

The evidence on the effectiveness of Head Start is mixed. On the one hand, the recent random assignment study of Head Start found that test score effects of Head Start mostly disappeared by the end of first grade. On the … Continue reading →